Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 583 - 578: Breakthrough Four

Chapter 583: Chapter 578: Breakthrough Four

Two days later....

Shii!!

Lin Xin stood at the bow, a twenty-plus-meter-long giant Demon General was cleaved into two, both halves crashing into the sea. A large amount of black blood scattered like raindrops into the water, completely dyeing a nearby area black.

The boat was constantly rocked by the impact of the waves.

Lin Youke and a few others on board struggled to maintain their balance. One of them was already pale-faced, with remnants of what had not been fully vomited at the corner of his mouth.

With such a degree of bumping, even those who were not seasick would have surely become queasy.

Lin Xin took a deep breath, the cold sea breeze growing stronger, continuously slamming into his face with moist air, invigorating one’s spirits.

"Once this mission is over, I can pretty much alleviate the family’s troubles. Plus, with Lin Youke and the other two taking my place to assist the family, I can be at ease to seek opportunities at the Sea Cliff."

Thoughts spun in his head.

"Young master, we have been separated from the fleet for two days now, and we are almost at Qingyun Island," Lin Youke said in a soft voice as he steadied himself and walked over.

"Hmm, how do you feel after taking the elixirs these past few days?"

Lin Xin asked casually.

"The effects are very good!" Lin Youke immediately showed a look of surprise and excitement when it came to the elixirs.

The potency of these elixirs was unparalleled.

After just two days of taking them, they could clearly feel their bodies strengthening in all aspects.

"The Rushing Thunder Sword Technique originally requires a combination of physical strength and Thunder Energy. We are only at the twenty-some layers of our realm, Thunder Energy is not lacking, what is truly lacking is physical strength. That’s why after just two days, all three of us feel close to breakthrough."

Lin Xin nodded.

In these past two days, he had enhanced each of their overall attributes by ten points.

Since it requires time for the body to adapt to the changes, time was needed.

As for the breakthrough of the Rushing Thunder Sword, it was inevitable. An enhancement of ten attribute points across the board, their original attributes were only around ten points, so with such a significant increase, almost doubling, it would be surprising if they didn’t improve.

"No need to rush, once you have a good foundation, you can progress step by step."

He said indifferently.

He then casually mentioned several precautions and techniques for practicing the Rushing Thunder Sword.

They all benefited greatly and listened intently.

Soon, a grey-white island began to emerge in the sea ahead.

Lin Xin stopped his explanation timely and turned his gaze towards the direction of the island.

"We’ve arrived, this should be Qingyun Island."

But there seemed to be fresh signs of destruction encircling the entire island.

Lin Xin frowned. The island apparently had no docks or any places to moor a boat.

Moreover, he could barely sense any signs of life.

"Alright, stay alert," he instructed.

"Yes!"

The boat slowly approached the island.

Lin Xin stood at the bow, his hand slowly gripping the hilt of the Red Flower Sword.

The boat gently bumped against a hidden reef, emitting a dull thud.

They were still over ten meters from the shore.

Lin Youke drew her sword and sliced forward.

Instantly, several rocks were cut apart and sunk to the bottom of the sea.

Her treasured sword glowed with a faint blue light, unscathed. The boat was able to continue forward.

"Is there nobody on this island?" Lin Chuan spoke as the boat came ashore and stopped, preparing to disembark first.

But he was stopped by a hand raised by Lin Xin.

Lin Xin’s eyes were concentrated as he suddenly stared at a shadow near the shore.

"Who’s there!"

Behind a pile of rocks on the island, a shadow flickered and vanished.

There were no Gongshang House members to greet them, no other two teams as expected, and the ground was covered with signs of fierce combat.

Lin Xin’s expression turned grim.

"Disembark."

"Yes!"

Lin Youke and the others responded solemnly.

The four of them leapt onto the island, heading straight to the central campsite.

Along the way, the island’s ground was littered with numerous slashes and sword marks, broken columns and stones scattered everywhere, along with remnants of Demon Energy and the traces of Spiritual Energy explosions.

The deeper Lin Xin walked into the island, the colder his face became.

***************************

Duanqing Long and Kong Xin carefully hid in the shallow waters by the edge of the island, peering through the water at Lin Sherie and his group quickly stepping onto the island, heading towards the campsite.

Only when the four of them entered the stone-strewn interior of the island, their figures gradually disappearing from sight, did the two dare to cautiously rise.

Duanqing Long’s face was swollen, red and bulging like a steamed bun, and one arm was missing, not visible when it was lost. The only hand he had left clung to a black short sword, as his longsword had long since disappeared.

"It’s Lin Sherie, a master of the Lin Family’s main line, surely noticed by that beast by now. I originally planned to hint for him to leave quickly, almost exposing myself, only to provoke it instead..." Duanqing Long breathed out, forcing a bitter smile.

Kong Xin’s leg was gone, and he could only support his body with a wooden staff, looking into the depths of the island with eyes full of hatred.

"I’ve sent the message. The Family Head should have received it by now and is on his way here. A Nascent Soul Cultivator appearing out of nowhere and killing so many of our Execution Allies—it’s a grudge now set in stone, it’s do or die!"

"Heh, with Brother Gongshang dead, if Lin Sherie also perishes at the hands of that creature, I wonder if he can withstand the unsealing by the Lin Yaoyang, the Family Head," Duanqing Long sneered coldly.

"And the one who drew this person here, his heart deserves punishment!" Kong Xin bit out.

They were originally just ordinary members of a team sent to intercept Demon Spirits, never expecting to encounter such difficulty.

They inexplicably came face to face with this Nascent Soul old monster, then just as inexplicably, the majority of them were killed.

The other party seemed to not care about the reputation of the Society of Zhuxie at all, instead opting to strike with lethal force.

If it weren’t for the two of them running fast, they might have ended up with the same fate as Gongshang Wu, instantly penetrated by countless sword blades, not even a whole corpse left behind.

At this moment, Kong Xin looked towards the small boat docked at the shore, a flicker of desire in her eyes.

"We could take the chance to....."

"No! If we hide, we might still have a chance to save Young Master Sherie’s life," Duanqing Long interjected.

"If we take his boat, that monster would go mad, and he would be left with no escape route, certain to die."

"But....." Kong Xin still wanted to say something, seemingly reluctant.

"There are no buts," Duanqing Long stared at her coldly. "We are from the Society of Zhuxie, upholders of the Righteous Path. If as humans we don’t even have a last line we won’t cross, what separates us from beasts?"

Kong Xin gritted her teeth, feeling a surge of resentment towards Duanqing Long.

********************

The dense fog on the island tumbled, and beyond a short distance, one couldn’t make out the surroundings.

Lin Xin led Lin Youke and the other two deeper into the island, quickly signaling for the three to stop.

He quietly formed a hand seal, and immediately a gentle breeze rose, rapidly dispersing the fog. It revealed the scene at the center of the island.

A clean and flat surface made of greyish-white stone.

A middle-aged Confucian scholar was sitting cross-legged right in the center, facing them.

There was no one around, no campsites, no members of the Gongshang family standing guard, nor any trace of human activity.

Lin Xin glanced at the middle-aged Confucian scholar.

"Who are you?"

He asked in a low voice.

Jin Ma opened his eyes and slowly turned his body, as if there were a turntable beneath him.

"So it is Young Master Lin Sherie in person. I am but a Loose Cultivator named Jin Ma, also here to partake in the encirclement and suppression of the Demon Spirit. The fog was dense earlier, and during an attack by the Demon Spirit, I happened to get separated from my companions. I’ve been on this island for three days now."

His demeanor was gentle, and his eyes showed a mix of exhaustion and joy at seeing Lin Xin, like a survivor stranded on a desolate island.

"Jin Ma?" Lin Xin looked around. "This place used to have a garrison point belonging to the Gongshang House, have you seen it?"

"I haven’t," Jin Ma shook his head, his expression one of confusion.

"When I wandered off and came onto the island, this was what it looked like. I’m not sure what happened."

Lin Xin stared into his eyes for a moment. Suddenly he let out a cold laugh.

"I’m afraid you’re the one who wiped out the encampment here, am I right?"

"Young Master Sherie, don’t spit blood!" Jin Ma became agitated, standing up with a startled look.

"Spit blood?" Lin Xin narrowed his eyes.

He looked around.

Shi!

Suddenly, a surge of Vigor Qi flew like lightning, prying a short blade with the Gongshang family head’s emblem from the ground on the right side, faint bloodstains still on it.

"Still dare to argue! The bloodstains are no more than ten hours old!"

"Young Master, you misunderstand....."

Lin Xin’s expression turned stern.

"To attack the Society of Zhuxie is to collude with the Demon Spirit! Anyone who consorts with Demon Spirits, kill without mercy!"

With a clang, he abruptly drew his sword.

Boom!

A bright red light burst forth, and hundreds of sword lights, like red lasers, shot towards Jin Ma at lightning speed, exploding into a sphere of light.

The speed of the red light was so fast that Jin Ma, who had only spoken halfway, was abruptly cut off.

Dang Dang Dang Dang!!!

In an instant, Jin Ma was hit by hundreds of swords, each strike targeted right at the center of his chest. But not one broke through his Spiritual Energy defense, all blocked by a thin layer of Transparent Spiritual Light.

"Spare me, Young Master Sherie!" A shout suddenly came from a distance.

Lin Xin’s expression tightened, and he looked up to see that it was Gongshang Wu, his appearance unkempt and his face showing a trace of urgency.

"Young Master, you misunderstand! Misunderstand! Mr. Jin Ma took prompt action to save us, we haven’t even had the chance to repay him for..."

"Shut up!" Lin Xin shouted fiercely, "Consorting with Demon Spirits is a capital offense! Do you also intend to ally with the traitors!?"

Gongshang Wu was taken aback, wanting to say more, but Lin Xin was relentless as he charged forward again.

Jin Ma felt extremely aggrieved.

He didn’t want to act against Lin Sherie so soon, so as not to affect the larger plan against the Lin family, which is why he had disguised himself as a Loose Cultivator.

Now, being pressured by Lin Xin again and again, his rage accumulated.

A murderous intent surged within him.

Stepping on the ground, he suddenly soared into the sky, tossing a concealed jade plate onto the ground.

He unfolded his Escape Light and flew away into the distance.

If he couldn’t fend off Lin Xin, couldn’t he at least evade him?!

"Trying to flee!" To his surprise, Lin Xin was also capable of sprinting across the sea, pursuing him rapidly.

His speed was astonishing, not falling behind in the least.

Jin Ma looked down and felt his killing intent flare.

"If you seek death, don’t blame me!"

He, a Yuan Jing master, was actually being chased away by a brat. If not for the higher-ups’ apprehensions about the Lin family, he would have slapped the youngster to death by now!

Unfortunately, he was under surveillance of that jade plate, visible to those above. He straightforwardly turned his Escape Light and sped away into the distance.

Once far enough, it would be the moment of the youngster’s demise!

Lin Xin, at the same time, was looking up at him.

"He has the same aura as those guys radiating death! After catching him, don’t kill him right away, see if a Soul Search can turn up something."

This place was too close to Lin Youke and the others, and he seemed to be under observation. It wasn’t a good idea to reveal his full strength here, but a chase further away would be just perfect.